The Breakers were beaten 93-90 by the Wildcats in Perth on Tuesday night, with the New Zealanders slipping from second to third in the NBL standings.
The Breakers player Barry Brown Jnr. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Wildcats ended with an 11-4 run to secure Tuesday night's 93-90 victory.
Dererk Pardon top scored for the Breakers with 28 points, with TaShawn Thomas scoring 23 for the Wildcats.
It's a significant result for both teams.
The Wildcats improve to 11 wins and 10 losses and are now back in the top six in the standings.
The Breakers are now in third with 13 and 7 and face a crunch game against the 14-7 Cairns Taipans on Sunday for second place, though they next play Melbourne United on Thursday.
Former Breakers player Corey Webster finished with 19 points, four boards and three assists for the Wildcats, with Tai Webster scoring 11 points and two assists.
Breakers coach Mody Maor believes the Wildcats superior offensive rebounding proved the difference.
"It turned on the glass and we gave up 15 offensive rebounds and they scored 23 points from those. This is where we lost this ball game.
"It's definitely not a good showing for us but this has been a constant thing for Perth for the last six or seven games, they've been averaging around 15 offensive rebounds a game. We pride ourselves in being a better defensive rebounding team than this.
"We started the season off rebounding poorly and we improved a lot, and this was a very bad game from us in this regard.
"Part of it has to do with the scheme, they were switching a lot with a little bit of a size disadvantage but that's when you need to be physical, and play with heart and five players need to get in there and grab it. We didn't do that work today and this is where we lost the ball game."